Crash Tested: Euro NCAP Challenges Euro-Spec Chevy Captiva

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In 2007, the European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) performed crash tests on the Chevy Captiva; no, not the U.S. spec Saturn Vue Captiva, but the larger unit otherwise known as the Daewoo Winstrom.

The Theta-based midsize crossover received acceptable scores in the tests, but the videos accompanying crash footage left us a bit uneasy. For starters, the pole test all but crushes the A-pillar while significantly intruding on the passenger compartment. Then there’s the matter of the rear end becoming conspicuously airborne during frontal impact with the driver’s side windshield wiper flying off — becoming a potential hazard. Yet even with these undesirable qualities, the Captiva fares well overall, scoring:

As a reminder, the frontal impact test takes place at 64 Km/h (40 MPH) with 40 percent of the width of the car striking a deformable barrier. In the side impact, a mobile deformable barrier impacts the driver’s door at 50 km/h (31 MPH), while the pole test involves the car being propelled sideways at 29km/h (18 MPH) into a rigid pole.